GPU Comparison

The AMD Instinct MI100 and AMD Radeon Pro VII are both 7 nm workstation accelerators from AMD, but they serve fundamentally different purposes. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy: in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the MI100 scores 139,035 against the Pro VII’s 90,148, a 54.2% advantage. The MI100 sits at the 96th percentile of all GPUs, while the Pro VII is at the 93rd. The verdict is straightforward: for raw compute throughput in OpenCL workloads, the MI100 is the definitive choice, while the Pro VII is the more versatile, display-capable card. Users needing a headless compute accelerator with massive memory should pick the MI100; those requiring a workstation card with display outputs and a broader API stack should pick the Radeon Pro VII.

The Verdict

The benchmark results decisively favor the AMD Instinct MI100 for compute performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 139,035 is 54.2% higher than the Radeon Pro VII’s 90,148. This is not a marginal difference; it’s a substantial gap that places the MI100 in a different performance tier. The MI100’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB, with an average score of 138,063 (0.7% lower), and it also edges out the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731, 0.9% lower). The Pro VII, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon RX 7900M (97,487, 0.4% higher) and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 (101,872, 4.7% higher). The data indicates the Pro VII is competitive within its class, but that class is a step below the MI100.

For compute-centric workloads, the MI100 is the superior product. It offers 32 GB of HBM2 memory versus 16 GB, and its FP32 throughput is 23.07 TFLOPS versus 13.06 TFLOPS. The MI100’s pixel rate is lower (96.13 GPixel/s vs 108.8 GPixel/s), but this is irrelevant for a card with no display outputs. The Pro VII wins on functionality: it provides six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, and has a lower TDP of 250 W versus 300 W. The MI100 has no display outputs and no API support listed, marking it as a pure compute accelerator. The choice hinges on whether the user needs graphics output or purely computational power.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different architectures, which explains their divergent performance profiles. The MI100 uses the Arcturus chip based on CDNA 1.0, while the Pro VII uses the Vega 20 chip based on GCN 5.1. Both are fabricated on TSMC’s 7 nm process, but the implementations differ greatly. The MI100 integrates 25,600 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 34.1M per mm². The Pro VII is a smaller chip: 13,230 million transistors on 331 mm², with a higher density of 40.0M per mm². The MI100’s larger die allows for significantly more compute resources.

The MI100 doubles the shading units (7,680 vs 3,840) and TMUs (480 vs 240), while both cards have 64 ROPs. This explains the MI100’s 23.07 TFLOPS FP32 performance versus the Pro VII’s 13.06 TFLOPS. In FP16, the MI100 achieves 46.14 TFLOPS (2:1) versus 26.11 TFLOPS (2:1). Clock speeds differ notably: the Pro VII has a higher base clock (1400 MHz vs 1000 MHz) and boost clock (1700 MHz vs 1502 MHz), but the MI100’s massive core count more than compensates. The memory subsystems are similar in bus width (4096-bit for both), but the MI100 has 32 GB of HBM2 at 1.23 TB/s bandwidth, while the Pro VII has 16 GB at 1.02 TB/s. The MI100’s memory clock is 1200 MHz (2.4 Gbps effective) versus 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective) on the Pro VII.

The feature sets diverge sharply. The Pro VII is a full workstation card with six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and a complete API stack (DirectX 12_1, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.3). The MI100 lists no display outputs and no API support, reinforcing its role as a server-side compute accelerator. Power requirements also differ: the MI100 has a 300 W TDP with two 8-pin power connectors and a 700 W suggested PSU, while the Pro VII has a 250 W TDP with one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector and a 600 W suggested PSU. The MI100 is shorter (267 mm vs 305 mm) but both are dual-slot cards with the same 111 mm height.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is lopsided. The MI100 scores 139,035, the Pro VII scores 90,148, giving the MI100 a 54.2% win. This is the single data point that defines the performance relationship between these two cards. The MI100’s score is 0.7% above the NVIDIA Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (138,063) and 0.9% above the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731). It also leads the AMD Radeon PRO V620 (136,472) by 1.9% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo (135,774) by 2.4%. The Pro VII’s score of 90,148 is 4.7% below the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 (101,872) and 5% above the AMD Radeon Instinct MI60 (92,466). The Pro VII is 6% above the NVIDIA RTX A4500 (91,671).

The deltaPct values reveal how close the MI100 is to its rivals. A 0.7% lead over the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB is essentially a tie, but the MI100’s 54.2% lead over the Pro VII is a categorical victory. The Pro VII’s position relative to the RX 7900M (0.4% lower) and Quadro RTX 6000 (4.7% lower) shows it is competitive in its tier, but that tier is far below the MI100’s. No other benchmark data exists for the MI100, so the OpenCL result stands as the sole quantitative comparison. The Pro VII also has Geekbench Metal (108,383) and Vulkan (92,862) scores, but the MI100 has no corresponding data, preventing a broader comparison. The data shows one clear winner in compute, and no benchmark where the Pro VII wins.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Instinct MI100 is decisively faster. In Geekbench OpenCL, the MI100 scores 139,035 versus the Radeon Pro VII’s 90,148, a 54.2% advantage.

Q: Can the AMD Instinct MI100 drive displays?

A: No. The MI100 lists no display outputs, while the Radeon Pro VII provides six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The MI100 is a headless compute accelerator.

Q: How does the memory capacity compare?

A: The MI100 has 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 1.23 TB/s bandwidth. The Radeon Pro VII has 16 GB of HBM2 with 1.02 TB/s bandwidth. Both use a 4096-bit bus.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The MI100 has a 300 W TDP, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and a 700 W suggested PSU. The Pro VII has a 250 W TDP, requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector, and a 600 W suggested PSU.

Q: Does the Radeon Pro VII support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes. The Pro VII supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The MI100 lists no API support in the data.

Q: How does the MI100 compare to NVIDIA Tesla V100 cards?

A: The MI100’s OpenCL score of 139,035 is 0.7% higher than the Tesla V100 PCIe 16 GB (138,063) and 0.9% higher than the Tesla V100 SXM2 32 GB (137,731).

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Instinct MI100 wins in raw compute performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 139,035 is 54.2% higher than the Pro VII’s, and it achieves 23.07 TFLOPS FP32 versus 13.06 TFLOPS. The MI100 also doubles the shading units (7,680 vs 3,840) and TMUs (480 vs 240), and provides double the memory capacity (32 GB vs 16 GB) with higher bandwidth (1.23 TB/s vs 1.02 TB/s). Its transistor count of 25,600 million on a 750 mm² die enables this scale. The MI100’s 96th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its position as a high-end compute part.

The AMD Radeon Pro VII wins on flexibility and workstation integration. It is the only card of the two with display outputs (six mini-DisplayPort 1.4a), making it suitable for visualization, content creation, or any workflow requiring a monitor. It supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, while the MI100 lists no API support. The Pro VII has a higher pixel rate (108.8 GPixel/s vs 96.13 GPixel/s), which benefits certain graphics workloads. It also consumes less power (250 W vs 300 W) and has a lower suggested PSU (600 W vs 700 W), simplifying system integration. The Pro VII’s higher boost clock (1700 MHz vs 1502 MHz) and base clock (1400 MHz vs 1000 MHz) indicate better per-core efficiency, though its smaller core count limits total throughput.

The data supports a clean split: the MI100 is for compute-heavy, headless environments (server racks, research clusters), while the Pro VII is for desktop workstations needing both compute and display capabilities. The MI100’s 54.2% OpenCL lead makes it the obvious choice for pure number-crunching. The Pro VII’s API support and display outputs make it the only viable option for interactive graphics work. Neither card wins on every metric, but the MI100’s margin of victory in the only shared benchmark is overwhelming. The Pro VII’s additional benchmarks (Metal: 108,383, Vulkan: 92,862) show it has multi-API capabilities, but the MI100 has no corresponding data to compare. The verdict is clear: the MI100 is the compute king, the Pro VII is the versatile workstation tool.